Dryer not heating or drying your clothing? If your dryer is all of a sudden not drying your clothes, then we have a few simple DIY fix tips you can try yourself. If the dryer is no longer drying your clothes then the first thing to do is to check and clean the dryer lint filter trap.
How To Fix A Clothes Dryer That Is Not Drying
Check Dryer Lint Filter
We were forced to add that as our first step as there really are some people who do not realize there is a LINT FILTER that must be cleaned before or after each use. Once that is cleaned out, check if the dryer is still NOT drying your clothes.
Check Vent Hose On Back Of Dryer
If that was NOT the cause of the problem, then you will need to inspect the vent hose on the back of the dryer. Commonly this HOT AIR VENT HOSE will become clogged, caked or full of lint that is constantly being removed from your clothing when drying. When this happens your dryer is unable to expel the hot air from within, therefore making it impossible for your dryer to actually dry your clothing in a timely manner or at all.
Common Causes For Dryer To Stop Heating
- The dryer lint screen (lint trap) has not been cleaned (poor or restricted airflow).
- A clogged or kinked (bent) dryer air vent hose (inadequate or no airflow).
- Drum has stopped turning, broken drum drive belt.
- Overheated or bad motor (possible thermal overload).
- Thermal fuse or thermostat (could be caused from dryer air vent hose lint buildup)
- Heating element burnt out.
- Loose electrical plug or power socket.
- Other mechanical issue, fault or malfunction.
Click here for a faster way to troubleshoot your dryer not heating
Clothing Takes Forever To Dry
If your clothes dryer is taking forever to dry your clothes or it is not drying your clothing at all (and you already thoroughly cleaned the lint filter screen), then the first step is to CLEAN OUT THE INSIDE OF THE DRYER VENT HOSE.
First, unplug your dryer from the electrical socket on the wall. Slide the dryer forward very carefully so you can get behind it. Locate the (usually silver colored) air vent hose, and remove it from the wall and the dryer (2 connection points).
Do this by squeezing the clip at both ends and pulling the hose outward. Using a long dryer vent brush or similar, clean out the inside of the air vent hose by removing all of the built up lint and dust looking material.
Clean the area on the back of the dryer and the hole in the wall where the air is vented out. Most of the time the lint will be built up in both of these areas.
Once all of the lint is cleaned out, reattach the vent hose and slide the dryer back in place. Make sure you DO NOT KINK the vent hose when repositioning the dryer as this will cause the dryer to NOT expel the hot air properly.
If you kink the hose the dryer will not function properly and your clothes will take forever to dry. Next, plug the dryer back into the power outlet and run a test. If your dryer is now heating and properly drying your clothes then you fixed the problem. If not, read on…
If you know what Dryer Replacement Parts you need, here is where to get them at a GREAT PRICE and most have FREE shipping.
Here is how much lint that can become stuck in your dryer vent hose.
This much lint in the hose or in the wall, will prevent your dryer from properly drying your clothes.
DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN! Dryer air vent hose clogged with lint.
Clean your dryer AIR VENTING HOSE on a yearly basis!
It is the reason your dryer takes forever to dry AND can be a fire safety hazard!
Dryer Has Overheated
At times your dryer can overheat and this can cause the motor that turns the drum to stop working temporarily. There is a safety mechanism built into the motor that makes it stop working if it gets too hot. This is called a thermally protected motor.
Your dryer may seem to be running but the motor will not be turning the drum. If the drum is not turning then the clothes are not moving. Therefore they can not get DRY. So if your dryer motor is NOT turning on but the rest of the dryer works, such as the lights and other mechanical parts, then your motor is probably overheated.
For this, you need to just give the motor some time to cool down. If you suspect that this is your problem then give the dryer about an hour to cool down and run a test after that. If your motor has overheated then you may be overloading your dryer with too many clothes. Try running the dryer with less clothes in it the next time you dry a load and this should remedy the issue.
The solutions above are the most common causes for this specific malfunction. If the explanations above have not been your specific problem, then there can be a number of things wrong. If you feel comfortable you can remove the front panel of your dryer (while unplugged) and look to see if there are any obvious causes of the problem.
A possible loose wire, loose part, burnt area, pieces of the dryer that have come off, fried or burned mechanical switches, etc. If the problem is not visual and you do not know what the issue can be, we recommend going here and posting an appliance repair question to online appliance repair technicians. If all else fails then simply leave a comment or question below and we PROMISE to answer your question in a timely manner.
Other components that could be at fault would be the Thermal fuse, Thermal cutoff, Heating element, Operating thermostat, and High limit thermostat. You can check all of these for continuity with a multimeter. If any are determined bad, remove and replace.
How Does It Work? Basic Clothes Dryer Function
Dryer Parts Schematic Parts Location Diagram Chart
If you still need help, assistance, or answers to fix your Dryer Not Heating problem, ask your
questions over at our Appliance Repair Help page for free answers to fix your broken appliance!
Dryer works (tumbles) but will not heat. We replaced the thermal fuse and the dryer worked for about 30 minutes. We then replaced the thermal fuse and the thermistor and the dryer worked for 3 loads. The thermal fuse is not ohming out but now the thermistor is fine. All vents have been cleaned there are no obstructions. Everything is testing fine except for the thermal fuse. Wondering what should we do/test next. Considering ordering the hi limit thermostat along with the thermal fuse since I have read that it is recommended to replace with the thermal fuse. Please help – thanks!! Just in case this helps- dryer is 2 years old and the model # DLEX2655V.
Jessica,
Your dryer works (tumbles) but just will not heat? It is most likely your dryer is on a double breaker 110V each. One breaker is probably switched off. If your dryer is 220V then make sure both breakers are flipped ON if that applies to your situation. If this did not help please let know more detail about your situation. Make and model of your dryer.
-RR
My dryer stopped heating so I bought a new one still it want heat so I bought a new breaker and new wire Why won’t the brand new dryer heat either
Harish,
If you see smoke, that COULD mean that the element is just burning off any oils that are on it from production. This is your call but…. you could disassemble and be sure your element install is correct or call a technician as if something was wired wrong a fire could occur.
Is it possible the heating element is making contact with something? Insulation, wires, the housing?
-RR
Hi,
I have a 3 year old electric Samsung dryer and it stopped heating. I have replaced heating element(actually complete house) and kept the door open and hold button so that drum rotates. And as soon as I turn it on I smell some thing burning, is this because of new element? but worrying part is I can see smoke inside drum….. Is there some thing wrong, should I call a technician?
Thanks
Harish
Chris,
First, make sure there are not multiple heat settings on your controls. We have seen where a button is pressed to set the dryer to low heat. Check that first. Are you drying the clothes on a different cycle then before? Have you checked the gas valve to be sure it is working properly? Have you cleaned out the vents deep inside the walls? Is the lint screen clean and not damaged?
-RR
I have a gas speed queen dryer that runs fine but some of the clothes come out wet like jeans. I checked the vents and there clean checked and replaced both thermostat sensors and still clothes come out a little wet never had this problem before any ideas on what it may be
Doug,
Have you used a long bristle wand to clean deep into the vent behind the dryer? There could be a large build up of lint hidden within it. Also be sure the filter screen is clean and not damaged.
-RR
Our dryer turns, heats but doesn’t dry very well..we just cleaned out the back and put in a new vent, but still not drying well. Any clues as to what else to look for or is it time for a new dryer?
Autumn,
Either the THERMAL FUSE or the THERMOSTAT(S) is on the fritz. You can test them with a multimeter to see if they are working properly. Those 2 parts are very common and are available on Amazon under the “Appliance replacement parts” category.
If you have more info for us, please let us know and we can continue to further troubleshoot.
-RR